30.06 and deer antler opinions please

[pmpartain]

Hello!

This is my first post here, so I hope I'm doing it correctly. This is my second bullet casing pen and the first pen on which I've used antler. I used a slimline kit. The shell casing was polished with micro mesh. The photo really accentuates scratches. I coated the brass with Hut PPP to help with the oxidizing, but I'm waiting on powder coat material to come in.

I've shown the pen to the folks at work and they seem to really like it. My first bullet pen had cocobolo instead of antler. It sold the same day I made it before I could take a picture.

I would like to hear any likes or dislikes from you pros here. I've picked up many pointers here already. Thanks in advance. This forum is great!

 

[alamocdc]

Looks pretty good to me, Mark. I like that you could leave some bark left on the antler. 30-06 is difficult to pull off on a slimline due to it's length.

 

[Skye]

I wouldent use that MM on wood after using it on brass.

I think it looks good also, but feel you may have sacrificed the pen's shape to leave the bark. I guess it's a matter of which you want more.

 

[kgwaugh]

FWIW, I like the top, mis-shapen or not, leaving the bark.

Your best bet for the brass is buffing, not sanding. If you have no buffing setup, I bet that a rag and a little Brasso would do just great, especially if you chucked the cartridge in the lathe.

What cartridge is that?

 

[Skye]

30.06

 

[Jim Boyd]

Originally posted by Skye
<br />I wouldent use that MM on wood after using it on brass.

Believe it not I have no ill effects doing exactly that[]

 

[dfurlano]

If you buff the casing it will take most if not all the scratches out.

 

[mrcook4570]

I just toss the cases in the tumbler for a couple of hours.

 

[Skye]

Originally posted by mrcook4570
<br />I just toss the cases in the <b>tumbler</b> for a couple of hours.

? I dont know about the casing, but I feel better an hour in!

The only reason I mention the MM is that I would think the early grits do their job by removing brass from the casing. Unless the MM is cleaned afterwards, they would (it seems) transfer a little of that brass to the wood of another turning. The later grits wouldent be as bad, but the first 3 would seem to pick up a good bit of material.

 

[Rifleman1776]

You retained the naturalness of the antler very well. Try a product called Simicrome for polishing. Expensive but one tube will go a long way. You can find it in a lot of antique shops.

 

[pmpartain]

Thanks for the feedback everybody. The casings that I have gotten have been fired and have some dings and deep scratches in them. Maybe I should sand with 600 and then polish like you are suggesting. To assemble the pen I hammered a section 2018 arrow shaft into the shell with some CA applied in the neck of the shell and on the end of the arrow near the primer end. Next I glued in the slimline tube. Since the shell is longer than the pen tube, I glued the second tube in to fill the extra space. Using a flush trim saw, I cut off the part of the second tube that was sticking out. That tube went into the antler for the top. Luck more than anything determined the shape of the antler. The thing was curved and I took my best shot at drilling. I was pleased that I had enough material to get round on both ends. I thought that if I tried to round the whole thing, not all of the bark would be turned away, and I like the fact that it is very obvious that the top is antler.

Please let me know if you guys don't think this contruction technique is good.

Thanks again.

 

[mick]

Great pen! The Simicrome Frank mentions is also available at Woodcraft and is great for polishing brass as well as a final polish on most acrylics!

 

[Skye]

Let me get this straight;

The lower end has a tube and a half in it.
The upper end has a half tube in it.
You flush cut it at the neck of the shell.
You didnt drill the shell or you left that part out.

People make these different ways, this is the first time I've heard of making one with 2 tube pieces in the lower end.

 

[pmpartain]

I drilled out the shell with a 5/16 bit. The shell has maybe a tube and a half in it, but probably more like a tube and a third or a little less. I guess you can see exactly how much tube is in the shell by the position of the clip. It barely lands on the antler. The other 2/3 of a tube is in the antler. The part of the second tube that was cut from from the shell was sticking out of the primer end not the neck.

 

[Skye]

It's an odd way to build one, no doubt about that. If you want to keep making them like that, you could make it a litte easier on yourself by buying longer 7mm tubes. That way, you could cut it to the lenghts you wanted and not have to worry about shortening the top end. I forget who sells them though...

 

[pssherman]

Originally posted by Skye
<br />It's an odd way to build one, no doubt about that. If you want to keep making them like that, you could make it a litte easier on yourself by buying longer 7mm tubes. That way, you could cut it to the lenghts you wanted and not have to worry about shortening the top end. I forget who sells them though...

Psi has them and Woodturningz should have them also. They are 10 inches long.

Paul in AR

 

[alamocdc]

Originally posted by Jim Boyd
<br />

Originally posted by Skye
<br />I wouldent use that MM on wood after using it on brass.

Believe it not I have no ill effects doing exactly that[]

Nor do I.

 

[mrcook4570]

Originally posted by Skye
<br />you could make it a litte easier on yourself by buying longer 7mm tubes. That way, you could cut it to the lenghts you wanted and not have to worry about shortening the top end.

Or just use the longer tube from a euro. It comes up a little short, but then I use the disc sander to sand the neck of the case flush with the tube.

 

[byounghusband]

Mark,
I really like that pen. Keeping the antler natural like that really makes it look rustic, which IMHO is what should be done for bullet pens. []

You might want to talk to Don Ward about making bullet pens. He did a demo down in the DFW area last weekend on bullet (25.06) pens and arrow shaft pens. He has an article on the Yahoo Pen turning group that explains how he does them. Go check it out.

Have you tried to drill the 30.06 bullet tip instead of using the slimline nib? You have to step drill it to make it work right. This is also discussed in Don's article.

I plan on making some, but they are about 4 or 5 projects down the list right now.

 

[Skye]

Originally posted by pssherman
Psi has them and Woodturningz should have them also. They are 10 inches long.

I vote for Fritz!

Billy, I've never tried it but after having my bushings discolor my wood, it seems that brass would do the same. Guess it doesnt for some, but with my luck it's not worth trying [!]

 

[redfishsc]

Yes, buffing the bullet casing with jeweler's rouge will remove the scratches, just be careful not to burn your fingers like I did yesterday buffing my wedding band.

Wright's Silver Cream will also polish the brass to a high shine. I'd use that just prior to the powdercoat. You can take a small flannel buffing wheel on your lathe and buff the snot out of it in a hurry (you could do a dozen faster than it would take to do one by hand).

 

[pmpartain]

Thanks again guys. I will check out that Yahoo post. I have not drilled the bullet yet. Just used the nib with the kit. I'd like to try it though. Do you have to clean the casing with acetone or something before powdercoat?

 

[ctboy]

Can you turn the casing, or is it too thin?

 

[Skye]

What do you mean 'turn the casing'?

 

[DFM]

Originally posted by Skye
<br />I vote for Fritz!

Billy, I've never tried it but after having my bushings discolor my wood, it seems that brass would do the same. Guess it doesnt for some, but with my luck it's not worth trying [!]

The brass discolored the wood on my bullet pen when I tried polished the pen on the mandrel.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Originally posted by ctboy
<br />Can you turn the casing, or is it too thin?

Ammunition brass is soft, turning should not present a problem other than holding without damaging. Polishing the brass is possible but an exercise in futility. It will get scratched again with very little handling and will patinize. Some will consider that desirable on a pen of this type, others might not like it.

 

[ctboy]

Thanks

 

[knottyharry]

Hey Mark,
Nice job.
The bark left on this one looks really good.
Harry

 

[pmpartain]

Thanks! I liked it. I'd like to say it was all skill, but I'm there was a fair amount of luck involved in drilling the antler.